Case Study - Shedding Light on ColourHolographic
Ground breaking holographic company, ColourHolographic, produces unique products for international brands. Their impressive portfolio includes 'MoviPoster', a brand new advertising medium, often integrated with global marketing campaigns for companies including Warner Brothers, Guinness UK, Cadbury and Diageo.
As ColourHolographic's range of clients and workload grew, their original sites in Essex and Leeds were no longer able to provide an efficient business solution. The company also had a marketing suite in Soho, which they wished to retain. They needed a location which could provide dedicated facilities including a film studio, green room and CGI offices. This combined with recruitment difficulties meant they were subcontracting out many of their specialist services.
Many of ColourHolographic's clients need to work in a central location and the celebrities featuring in the adverts are time restricted, highlighting the need to be close to the City. Another aspect of the business is to provide others in the industry with access to their specialist facilities. This offers collaborative opportunities for a number of firms to provide seamless packaged solutions to clients, and in order for this to be viable ColourHolographic needed to be in a good location and charging reasonable rates.
A cost effective solution was therefore needed in order for the company to move forward. This involved consolidating facilities, addressing clients requirements and offering access to a more appropriately skilled labour pool. Thames Gateway London offered the solution:
- East London is already home to an impressive array of creative industries and facilities.
- Many of the skilled professionals working in these fields are located in East London.
- A Thames Gateway London location offers good access to the City and London's creative hubs.
- Thames Gateway London offered ColourHolographic all the benefits of a London location, without the expected London prices.
Gateway to London's role
ColourHolographic approached Gateway to London on 2 June 2004 to help them find premises which would provide a solution for the future of their business. In addition to the wider business needs, the company had a quite unique and stringent set of criteria for the type of premises they were seeking. This included an older brick built building with high ceilings to accommodate filming and a quiet location with little traffic movement as the lasers used are sensitive to vibration.
Initially, Gateway to London carried out a property search on behalf of ColourHolographic, providing a range of options including the fitting shop site at Trinity Buoy Wharf. As a new company moving into the area and part of the creative industries ColourHolographic were eligible to apply for a grant. Gateway to London facilitated a meeting with the LDA regarding grant assistance and at the end of 2004 they received a grant of £75,000 to assist with their move to the area.
Following the initial search, viewings and tours of the site were arranged including meetings with the managing agents. At 13,000 sq ft the building offered all the space ColourHolographic needed and more, giving them the opportunity to consolidate further operations on to the site. The area is already establishing itself as a key creative hub in London, is only five minutes from 3 Mills Studios, central London's major studio complex which ColourHolographic has worked with in the past. In addition, the site offered a fitting historical setting for the company, being home to London's only lighthouse, where the famous scientist Michael Faraday carried out his experiments with light and lens's.
In all it offered a perfect solution. Gateway to London assisted ColourHolographic throughout the entire relocation process, successfully negotiating terms on the company's behalf and advising on a number of other business related issues to help the move go as smoothly as possible. Approval for the plans to redesign the building was granted at the end of March 2005, contracts were signed at the beginning of April and refit work started shortly afterwards. The development of the building will be phased, ColourHolographic will move in shortly and when complete, the premises at Trinity Buoy Wharf will include a film studio, CGI offices and film separation facilities.
These are all new local services that the company will be able to offer, which new staff will need to be employed for and which will add to the draw of the area for creative industries. Gateway to London continues to advise and assist ColourHolographic and the company are already in discussions surrounding taking additional space at Trinity Buoy Wharf.
The company's view
Michael Medora, Chairman of ColourHolographic 'Gateway to London has gone beyond the call of duty in supporting ColourHolographic. We were very impressed with the range of assistance that the organisation supplied us with, from finding a site that satisfied all of our criteria, lease negotiations and grant applications, to providing general business advice on our relocation to Thames Gateway London. Locating so close to central London will give the company the gravitas to increase its presence in the advertising world globally.'
Outcomes
ColourHolographic's move to Trinity Buoy Wharf will see 25 specialist new jobs created in the area over the next two years, increasing ColourHolographic's staff to over 40 and allowing impressive company growth. The move is a strong indicator to creative businesses of the facilities and benefits that East London can provide.
The injection of confidence and opportunities that the move of a truly innovative company such as ColourHolographic will provide is extensive. It will be of benefit to both existing companies and those looking to locate in Thames Gateway London. It will provide prospects for collaboration, sharing of skills and resources and play an important role in the rapid growth of East London's creative hub over the next few years.
